Nets begin second half Wednesday with a soft road trip

The Nets begin a six-game road trip tonight against the Jazz (19-33) and look to gain some ground in a mediocre Eastern Conference.

Although underachieving with a 24-27 record, the Nets are in seventh place in the East and entered yesterday just a game behind the fifth-place Hawks. They are in excellent position to rise up the standings but need to play better on the road.

Brooklyn is only 8-16 away from home this season and 14-14 against sub-.500 teams.

That being said, the Nets could potentially get off to a hot start in the second half because four of the teams on this road trip have records below .500.

In addition to Utah, the others are the Lakers (Feb. 23), Nuggets (Feb. 27) and Bucks (March 1). Overall, the Nets play six of their next 10 games against teams with losing records. They head to Boston on March 7 before taking on the Kings at Barclays Center on March 9.

Brooklyn’s problems on the road have continued as of late, however. They are winless as visitors in February, losing to the Pacers, Pistons and Bulls. Of those teams, though, only Detroit has a losing record.

If they can turn it around away from Brooklyn, the Nets could find themselves hosting a playoff series. They are 16-11 at Barclays Center this season, which would create a significant home court advantage should they overtake the Raptors in the Atlantic Division race.

Brooklyn entered yesterday 3 1/2 games behind Toronto, who they will play for the final time this season on March 10 at Barclays Center.